Home Opener Win Sparks Progress for Eatonville Boys Basketball
- Skip Smith
- 28 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Eatonville opened its week with a breakthrough moment, picking up its first win of the season Monday night with a 53-38 victory over Tenino in the home opener at Rainier Connect Arena.
The Cruisers set the tone early, pouring in five 3-pointers in the first quarter to build a 22-7 lead. Hiro Masai knocked down two from deep as Eatonville moved the ball well and found clean looks. A 6-0 run to start the second quarter pushed the margin further, and the Cruisers carried a 38-15 lead into halftime behind seven points from Amari Samuel.
Tenino responded after the break, opening the third quarter on an 8-0 run as Eatonville’s defense slipped. The Beavers outscored the Cruisers 17-10 in the period, trimming the lead to 48-32 heading into the fourth. Jeremy Osborn Jr scored six of his 14 points in the quarter to steady Eatonville. The final eight minutes featured steady back-and-forth scoring as the Cruisers closed out the win.
Samuel finished with 14 points and five rebounds, Osborn Jr added 14 points, and Nash Sherrard led Eatonville on the glass with eight rebounds.
“It was great to get in the win column especially early on in the season - our program was grateful for the opportunity to play an old league opponent,” head coach Josh Bennett said. “7 of our 8 made field goals in the first quarter were assisted on - good things happen when we share the ball and get in the paint.” Bennett also pointed to the second half as a teaching moment. “second half was a good learning experience for us - game is not over until the end - we let them creep back in and tried to do too much - we will learn from that and that experience will be beneficial in the future.”
Less than 24 hours later, Eatonville was back on the road for a rivalry matchup at Orting, where the Cardinals handed the Cruisers a 52-28 loss.
Orting opened the game on an 8-0 run and led 17-7 after one quarter as Eatonville struggled to get into an offensive rhythm. The Cruisers showed signs of life early in the second, using an 8-2 run to cut the deficit to 19-15, but Orting answered with another 8-0 surge and took a 27-17 lead into halftime.
The Cardinals continued to control the game in the third quarter, outscoring Eatonville 13-6 to stretch the lead to 40-23. The Cruisers managed just five points in the fourth as Orting closed out the win. Orting dominated the rebounding battle 45-25, a decisive factor throughout the night.
Osborn Jr led Eatonville with eight points, while Jake Brannon added seven points and three rebounds.
“It’s tough when you come out flat. We got destroyed in the rebounding battle. We have still been stressing the importance of it and will continue to clean it up. Orting’s size was an issue for us. They were the more physical team,” Bennett said.
Eatonville returned to action Friday against Foss and again found itself playing from behind. The Falcons jumped out to a 12-0 start and led 20-8 after the first quarter. Foss’s defense held the Cruisers to just three points in the second, a lone Osborn Jr 3-pointer, as the Falcons took a 33-11 lead into halftime.
The Cruisers showed improved energy coming out of the break. Brannon scored five points in the third quarter as Eatonville put up 11, but Foss maintained control and led 46-22 entering the fourth. Eatonville saved its best offensive stretch for the final period, outscoring the Falcons 16-9 behind Ryder Herbrand and Samuel Twedt. Herbrand scored six points and grabbed five rebounds, while Twedt added five points and five boards. Foss held on for a 55-39 win.
Osborn Jr led Eatonville with eight points and five rebounds. Herbrand finished with six points and 11 rebounds, Samuel had six points and three rebounds, and Twedt chipped in five points.
“We came out super flat again - hard to be down that much at the end of a quarter,” Bennett said. “I love how we responded in the second half - we cut off driving lanes and made it much tougher for them to score. We also ran some offense and worked the shot clock - we look pretty good when we are doing that.”
The Cruisers wrapped up the week Saturday in Seattle against The Northwest School, falling 63-56 in a nonleague contest but posting their highest point total of the season.
Eatonville struggled out of the gate for the third straight game, scoring just five points in the opening quarter and trailing 17-5. The offense picked up in the second behind Amari Samuel, who scored 10 points as the Cruisers kept pace but still trailed 39-26 at halftime.
Samuel stayed hot in the third, scoring eight more points as Eatonville outscored Northwest 13-9 and cut the deficit to 48-39. In the fourth, Samuel added seven more to finish with a season-high 25 points. Eatonville briefly took the lead late, but Northwest responded down the stretch to secure the win.
Samuel finished with 25 points and four rebounds, while Herbrand added 10 points and eight rebounds.
“This was our 3rd game in a row we came out flat and make it tougher on ourselves from the jump,” Bennett said. “Our group was very resilient this game. I felt this was the most connected our team has been all season. We fought back from down 14 after the 1st and took the lead in the fourth quarter with 3 minutes to go.”
Despite a 1-3 week, Bennett emphasized the progress made through a demanding stretch.
“4 games in 6 days is a lot for any ball club at the high school level. Our group made some great strides this week and I am grateful for the journey we are on and look forward to some more league play next week,” he said.
Eatonville stays on the road this week, traveling to Tacoma on Tuesday, Dec. 16, to face the Washington Patriots before finishing the week Friday, Dec. 19, at Steilacoom against the Sentinels. Both games tip off at 7 p.m.
Comments